


This Mortal Coil

by Vialana



Series: Find Someone to Carry You [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Coda, Episode 3x04, Introspection, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-22 22:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13773657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vialana/pseuds/Vialana
Summary: Part of being a leader is apparently making sure his team is dealing okay with their experiences in another reality. Keith is really not good with reassurance. Coda to 3x04.





	This Mortal Coil

**Author's Note:**

> Another update. This one's a little more overt with the Keith/Lance overtones than others in the series so far. Enjoy!

After making sure Allura would be okay (Coran slipped into the bridge as Keith was leaving, and he glanced back once to see the two of them embracing before letting them have their privacy), Keith wandered the castle to make sure the other paladins were dealing with their unexpected trip to another reality.

(Keith was honestly not that phased by the whole thing. He was mostly just confused and angered by the fact that the alternate Alteans had taken the words and actions of someone as noble and honest and forgiving as Allura and twisted them to fit an ideology that ran completely counter to everything she ever believed in and stood for.)

Hunk was distracting Pidge with cookies in the kitchen as she kept getting worked up by the idea that Matt or her father might accidentally stumble through one of these space-time anomalies despite the incredible statistical unlikeliness. Unfortunately, logic couldn’t do much against emotional distress, so the cookies were probably a better option thank Keith’s bluntness right now.

Keith stumbled across Lance in the navigation room, sitting on the edge of the platform. The lights were dimmed so that he could look up at the holographic display of stars sparkling against the dark walls. Keith recognised the constellations hanging in the air.

Lance didn’t look at him as he entered the room. He didn’t even look over as Keith took a seat next to him on the platform.

Rather than forcing him to talk, Keith let the comfortable silence grow between them. Lance would talk if and when he needed to. And if he just wanted to draw comfort from having someone nearby, Keith was more than happy to sit and stare at the stars.

“Did you recognise Sven’s accent?” Lance’s voice was quiet.

Keith shrugged, not expecting this line of questioning.

“It sounded Scandinavian.” Stars from the Milky Way shone and rotated in the air. Lance reached out to pluck a holo image of Earth from the air, pulling his fingers apart to expand the tiny planet to the size of a tennis ball, and spun the globe of light around in his palm, staring at the blurring oceans and continents.

Keith let himself get distracted by the hypnotic motion of Lance’s nimble fingers curling gently around the miniature Earth as it spun.

“Do you think he’s okay?”

Keith blinked, yanking his focus from Lance’s hands to his words. “Sven?”

Lance nodded, still spinning the Earth by it’s axis, his index finger pressing down on the Arctic circle to hold it steady.

“He seemed to think he’d be fine. And their Slav seems more competent than ours. Or, at least good enough in a fight to make up for the annoyance.”

Lance didn’t laugh at the jab at Slav. Keith shuffled closer to him then froze, breath hitching, as Lance leaned his head on Keith’s shoulder. He was close enough to notice that Lance hadn’t bothered with his usual lengthy post-mission shower; his hair smelled of sweat and the metallic castle water.

“He took a bullet for me.”

Keith couldn’t say anything to that. His mind was caught by the devastating thought that yes, if Sven hadn’t stepped in, Lance might be dead. Keith’s heart beat faster and he could feel prickling behind his eyes. Rather than letting his sudden panic show and distress Lance further, Keith shuffled closer and wrapped his arm around Lance’s shoulders in an attempt at comfort.

(So maybe his panic was showing a little. He might have needed this as much as Lance.)

Lance was the one to freeze up at the close contact this time, but he relaxed quicker than Keith—snuggling into the offered warmth and security with a sigh so full of distress and uncertainty that Keith couldn’t stay silent.

“You shouldn’t think too much about it. They’re in another reality we can’t get to and there’s no way of knowing what’s going on back there. There’s no point in getting worked up about something you can’t change.”

Lance let out a huff, almost a laugh. “You’re kind of terrible at this aren’t you.”

Keith scowled, face flushing in embarrassment. Lance delighted in the expression, an actual smile adorning his face as he poked at Keith’s cheek.

Keith swatted the invasive finger away. “So what if I am? Still managed to make you smile.”

Lance stopped poking him, leaning too far over Keith’s lap and much further into Keith’s personal space than he usually got without yelling or riling him up. “Huh.” His voice sounded lighter. “I guess you did.” He looked up at Keith, blue eyes bright and free of the shadows that haunted him when Keith first entered the room. “Thanks.”

Keith broke eye contact this time, his blush flaring up again. “No problem. It’s my job, right? As leader. Looking out for my team.”

Lance was still staring when Keith risked looking back at him. “I suppose so.” Lance blinked and pulled back. Keith shivered at the sudden chill. Despite having moved away, Lance’s smile was still warm as he said, “I guess you’re not actually half bad at that either.”

Keith didn’t know how to react to the unexpected compliment, so he stayed silent, watching Lance as he spun the holo-Earth one last time before releasing it into the air so it could take its place back among the stars.

“You should get your beauty sleep,” Keith said.

“I will.” Lance lay down on the platform and stared up at galaxy arm drifting by the dark ceiling. “I just want to watch the stars some more.”

Keith nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Yeah.”

Keith was almost out the door when he heard Lance’s quiet, “Thanks.” He glanced over his shoulder to see Lance reaching up to trail his fingers through the orbits of stars and planets too far away.

Keith knew he would dream of the bands of stars in the sky above his old shack in the desert that night.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr: [ladyvialana](https://ladyvialana.tumblr.com/)


End file.
